A participant in the Microtransat Challenge, the Champlain Explorer is an unmanned "drone" boat with a mission to be the first to successfully cross the Atlantic ocean. The Microstransat Challege is a friendly speed competition for autonomous transatlantic boats. As of 2017, there have been 27 failed attempts to complete the challenge. Our entry, the Champlain Explorer, aims to be the first successful to cross.

Be a part of this exciting journey: follow the Champlain Explorer's build and development below! ​

Champlain Explorer is ready for the challenges ahead! Here are some of these challenges and our plan in response: ​

Survival

Previous attempts have been unsuccessful for several reasons: fishing nets, fishing boats, sea debris and even sharks have disabled competitors. Champlain Explorer is designed to be sleek which helps with efficiency and shedding of seaweed and fishing nets. ​

Navigation

Unmanned Champlain Explorer uses an autopilot system. Specifically, the open source Pixhawk autopilot running Ardurover firmware. The autopilot uses GPS with a host of other sensors for positional information. We will pre-program waypoints for Champlain Explorer to follow along its journey. Exciting stuff! ​